CSBOA: Mechanics Study: DEAD BALL OFFICAITING

Tuesday, December 13DEAD BALL OFFICAITING

DEAD BALL OFFICAITING

In the wake of the Cincinnati and Xavier brawl it probably
behooves all of us to redouble our efforts to make sure a similar situation
does not occur in one of our games.Vigilance during dead ball periods is an important habit to for us to
engrain in our officiating bag of tricks.

When a team requests and is granted a time out the
officiating crew should initially be less worried about reporting who called
the time out and confirming with our partners resumption of play information,
and more interested in watching the players as they move to their bench
areas.Depending on where the players
are located when a time out is granted there is often a brief period when the
two teams pass through each other on their way to their respective
benches.This is a perfect time for an
agitated player to whack an opponent in the nose with a quick elbow flick and
keep on walking toward the bench.This
has happened in the past and the officials were looking at each other and the
table and had no clue about what had happened to the player on the floor with a
bloody and broken nose.

A very similar situation occurs after a made field
goal.“Biggs” who have been battling for
rebound position are now turning and beginning to run down the floor while a
couple of smaller guards are coming to the baseline to get the ball for the
throw-in.There is a brief period where
the two factions meet and it is again a perfect time for a “big” elbow that is
about at the level of a guard’s nose to be pressed into service.In the three-person officiating system Center
officials must wait and focus on this meeting of the “waves” before moving down
court.

Dribble drive plays to the basket that culminate with contact
that send one or both of the players involved to the floor are situations that
have the possibility of “flaring up.”The calling official probably wants to stay at the scene longer to make
sure everything is ok, rather than taking off quickly for the table, and a
partner will want to “close down” on the players on the floor while using their
voice to announce their presence.These
techniques can keep an agitated player from doing something stupid.

Making sure that all players are “covered” is a high
priority when a foul is being reported and the officials are “switching” to new
positions on the floor.In the
three-person system the non-calling and switching partner wants to keep visual
contact with the players while moving to his/her new position. Back court fouls where officials and players
are often moving greater distances and switching positions offer even greater
challenges in maintaining visual coverage of all the players. In the two-person
officiating system I encourage a “no long switch” philosophy not because we are
lazy but because it is very difficult to cover all players when both officials
are moving to new positions.

In the coming weeks let’s all make it a priority to be
better dead ball officials and pay special attention to the above situations
and the many other dead ball situations that occur in our games.